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Monday, January 10, 2011

"I am the Immaculate Conception"

"Que soy era Immaculada Counceptiou" (Original Patois)
"Je suis l'Immaculée Conception" (French)
"Yo soy La Inmaculada Concepción" (Spanish)
"I am the Immaculate Conception" (English)

These are the words of the Virgin Mary that appeared at Lourdes to Bernadette in 1858.

The doctrine that Mary was born without sin had been part of the Christian faith for many centuries, but it had never been officially pronounced by the Catholic Church until 1854 by Pope Pius IX.

I have asked Mary to be my spiritual director, and to guide me in a deepening of my faith. Today, I received a gift of a bit of advice. It is simply this:
Say on a decade of the Rosary the words, "I am the Immaculate Conception". Or you can just say these words ten times, while counting on your fingers. And at the same time contemplate the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Faith is not something that can be taught; it must be experienced.

Mary, herself, experienced the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet all of these outward physical events would in themselves be meaningless, without the inner faith which she experienced in her spiritual life.

For those of us seeking higher spiritual fulfillment, Mary is the ultimate example for us to follow.

In her womb, the heart of Our Lord Jesus and her own truly beat as one.

As we pray to be able to transform ourselves into models of Christ, so that our hearts may beat as one with the Sacred Heart of Jesus; we can follow the path illuminated by the footsteps of Mary. There we will also find the footprints of the saints that have preceded us.

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Oh, Immaculate Heart of Mary, guide us to the light of your Son.
"And a sword will pierce through your own soul also."
 – Luke 2:35

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2 comments:

  1. EDIT: The correct term for the veneration of the heart of Mary is the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I had written instead the Sacred Heart of Mary. While I suppose this is not totally incorrect, the term Sacred Heart is usually reserved to refer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. My apologies for this confusion on my part.

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  2. Part of the message of the Virgin Mary at Fatima:
    "Jesus wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it." (June 13, 1917)

    On October 31, 1942, in the midst of World War II, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in response to the Marian apparition in Fatima, Portugal in 1917.

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